If only you could stay and never say goodbye
by Dean and Juliet
Summary: After the battle on the third day, Ariel must come to terms with her actions and mature in order to move on.
1. You Pitiful, Insignificant Fools

You Pitiful, Insignificant Fools!

The ocean became black as the heart of the witch who ruled its merciless fathoms below. First, all those poor souls, and now her father. This madness must stop. "Eric!", Ariel exclaimed as she swam towards her fiancee who was barely staying afloat above the crashing waves , "You've got to get away from here". "No, I won't leave you!", he cried, his words muffled by the churning water.

The ocean became more furious as a green light appeared and underneath the mermaid and the human. A large spike separated them as the sea switch penetrated the surface. As she grew, so did the spike; the crown. Her father's crown... Eric and Ariel felt themselves being lifted into the air, the earth tremoring below. The ocean looked further, and further gone as they were lifted high up into the dark clouds. Reaching as far as he could, Eric grabbed Ariel's hand and pulled themselves off the giant crown, diving in the depths below.

Ursula's monstrous laughing grew in volume as her body grew in size. They two lovers were stranded now. Out in the middle of the ocean, all they could do was hold one another in fear and watch in horror at the powerful giant above them.

"You pitiful, insignificant fools!" The voice cut through the stranded couple like jagged rocks through a ship, just like the wooden corpses below them. From the ocean came one of the monstrous giant tentacles, ready to crush the pair. "Look out!", Eric yelled.

Thinking as fast as she could, Ariel, tried to grab Eric's hand and pull him underwater, but they were flown apart as Ursula's tentacle thrashed the water between them. Ariel swam away to avoid the waves, but Eric was not so lucky. Ariel looked back to see her fiance thrown high in the air, only to be swept up by the tsunami created by the sea witch.

Flashes of lightning shot from the sky as Ursula began to conjure a tempest from her father's trident. Dark clouds rolled in, darker then before. Rain turned into hail and the ocean became angrier. Ursula swirled the trident into the ocean, creating a whirlpool and trying to sweep in anything undesirable to destroy it under the pressures of the sea. Instead, the ships from below began to resurface, almost coming alive and sailing again. The once vacant corpses now hailed once again, but empty of the sea chanteys and sailor songs. These tales of the bottomless blue were no longer tales but living, and breathing reality.

The monster began to call to the gods. Monologuing her early victory in her hellish, deep tone. "Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim! The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!" Ariel felt a pull from under her. The rising ship was beginning to pull her under. She swam away from its current and held herself against a nearby rock. Still holding on to the rock, she called to Eric, who was desperately trying to pull himself away from the current of the whirl pool. A sailing corpse crushed him as it penetrated the surface. Ariel let out a cry, believing Eric to be dead, only to then see him pull himself onto the ship from a disconnected rope of the center mast. She wanted to help, wanted to get on the boat with him, but the current was to strong. All she could do was watch and pray from her refuge that her prince would survive.

Ariel looked up, inadvertantly making eye contact with her aunt, this beast who she once called family. The monster who still helped her. Where would she be if Ursula didn't give her legs? None of that mattered to Ariel anymore as Ursula fired a bolt from the trident, breaking the rock and hurling Ariel into the center of the tsunami. The wind whipped from the center off the twister. No water was present at the bottom of the ocean in the eye of this storm. No water for Ariel to escape to from her dry prison, still a mermaid, at the center of a water spout.

All Ariel could do was look up, only to see another shot hurling towards her. She threw herself out of the way of the bolt as it hit the ocean floor. A shot meant to kill. Followed by another, and another, a never ending barrage of fire that had Ariel scampering around like a helpless crab caught in a fisherman's trap.

Meanwhile, Eric charged up to the stern of the ship. The wheel barely intact, but still useable. He scanned the waves for Ariel at the top of the bridge, but she was nowhere in sight. All Eric could see was Ursula, firing the trident into the center of the vortex. Eric hoped the wheel was still connected to the rudder. He jerked the wheel to the left and miraculously the ship began to move. Eric kept his eyes on his fiendish target. Closer... _closer_...just a few more inches and they'd be free from this nightmare.

Ursula looked down upon her prey with sadistic triumph. The poor little princess would join her father soon. There was nowhere for her to try and hide now. "So much for true love!", Ursula cackled as she raised her trident above her head. The final strike was imminent. With one final turn of the wheel, Eric's ship aimed towards Ursula. The sea witch turned around to late. The splintered bow of the ship plunged into the monster's gut and it let out a roar, sparks flying everywhere from her massive body. She doubled over the bow, sending debris and wood flying in all directions. The ship was lowered back into its grave. Back to the mysterious fathoms below. Nothing remained except a trail of black and purple smoke stretching up into the night sky and finally evaporating into nothingness. Ariel looked around. The prison was gone and the ocean was as calm as before...eerily calm. She saw a dark blot on the shore. Eric!

Eric helplessly pulled himself onto shore. He fell onto his back, holding his wound. He raised his hands to his eyes; they were completely red. Blood soaked through his shirt. Through the pain, Eric could hear distant splashing and for a brief moment, there was relief as he saw his princess pull herself up beside him. She put her hand to his face. He could smell the sea salt in her hair and he could hear that mysterious song that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Ariel placed her hand on his stomach, only to be caught by surprise from a painful grunt in Eric's voice. "Ariel, no…" She looked down to see a splintered piece of wood lodged in Eric's stomach. She didn't know what to do. "You'll be okay," Ariel choked out behind tears. Even her usually cheery voice didn't seem to believe it. With both of her hands, she grabbed the wood chunk and pulled it out of her fiance's stomach, cutting her own hand in the process. Eric yelled and his breathing became shallow. Ariel balled her hands into fists to keep pressure on the wound.

"You'll be okay," she repeated, more to herself than to him, "I can keep the wound at bay for now and if Sebastian and Flounder find my father they can bring him here to heal you with his trident and-"

"Ariel…"

She stopped. A hand caked with blood reached up to her but she did not turn away. The hand brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. Eric shook his head slowly. Ariel burst into tears.

"Don't weep for me, Ariel...I'm not worth it...and I want to see that beautiful smile…"

Ariel choked as she tried to stop the tears, but a few stray ones rolled down her cheek "Whatever you want, I'm here."

"That's all I ever wanted."

Ariel smiled, but with her crying it was more like a grimace. "Eric…"

"Ariel, tell me something."

"Anything."

"Was there anything you wanted to tell me when you weren't able to speak?"

"Only I love you."

Tears welled in Eric's eyes. "I will die a happy man hearing you say those words."

Eric's eyes began to close. Ariel, was frightened, terrified. Not now, not after everything she had given up. She squeezed his hand. "Eric, please, stay with me."

"I always will be. In here." Eric placed his hand over Ariel's bosom, right on top of her heart. Ariel could feel his hand become limp.

Ariel began to sing her song, which could be heard across the seven seas. Her music was filled with love, but also despair. Hopefully her voice would lift his soul to heaven. If only he could know how much he meant to her. They had only spent three days together, but it felt like a lifetime was taken from her and shattered like glass. In her hand, she could feel Eric's pulse. A faint beat, but one that was fighting for dear life….and then...the music of Eric's heart played its last note. Silence.

She didn't move. She couldn't. Couldn't sing, couldn't cry, couldn't scream. Couldn't. Somewhere, she heard Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle approach her. She felt a wing, a claw, and a fin stroking her gently.

"Awww, kid…"

"Oh, child…"

"Ariel…"

They were trying to comfort her, but it would do no good. Not when she knew it was her fault. All her fault. Ariel laid herself next to Eric's body, hugging her deceased lover, crying harder than when her mother died. The other's couldn't feel her pain, but they couldn't stand see her the way she was. Sebastian was the first to attempt bringing her back. He scampered up beside Ariel, trying to keep himself back from shedding a tear.

"Ariel, please. Come home…. There is nothing you can do anymore"

"It's what I _didn't_ do. I should have never made that deal. I should have listened to my father. This is all my fault. All _my_ fault".

"Please , child. Don't do dis to yourself. Dat witch tricked you-"

"And I believed her!"

Ariel's sobs were raw and raspy. She clutched Eric's body even harder. She never wanted to leave him. She would wither away before she left him on that beach.

Sebastian looked at the other two imploringly. Scuttle waddled up next to him and Flounder swam closer to shore.

"Kid, please. Listen to the crab. He's right. There's nothing left for you here anymore."

"Ariel, come home with us please," Flounder begged.

"Child, don't let dis destroy you. You have your whole life left ahead of ya, you can't let dis cloud ya judgement."

Ariel still wouldn't budge. Her grip on Eric's body tightened firmly. The three looked at each other and could only sob and shake their heads. She was passionate; she wasn't going to leave him and that was final.

"I'm sorry kid. I'm so sorry" Scuttle squawked. He gave his final goodbye's to his friends, then flew away. Seeing Ariel any longer in her current state would make him sick with worry. She needed time.

Flounder swam up to Ariel's fin and rested his head against it, his tears mingling with the salt water. Sebastian looked on. He must be strong, for her sake.

"Sebastian."

A voice cut through Ariel like the wind of the ocean. Eric? No it couldn't be. Her name, she heard her name. The voice was harsh, raspy, but still gentle.

"Leave us," the voice commanded. It was his majesty, looking more forlorn, sombor and heartbroken than Sebastian and Ariel had ever seen him. Sebastian opened his mouth, looked back at Ariel, and closed it again.

"Yes, your majesty." He slunk away to the shore and disappeared beneath the waves.

Ariel didn't acknowledge her father, but she knew he was there. Triton had regained his trident, and with one swoop, Triton turn his daughter into what he knew she always wanted to be, a human. Ariel felt her transformation with its warm glow, and looked down to no longer a tail, but a pair of legs, similar to the ones she bore the past couple of days. "You've always belonged to this place. Hopefully, you will learn to find joy again in this new life."

But that no longer mattered to her. Ariel finally realized what she wanted. Using her new legs, she stood up and turned towards her father who was floating mid tide. She took one last look at Eric's body and laid one final kiss on his forehead before proceeding back towards the ocean. She was knee deep in the shallow water, gazing at her father. She was to young to remember him crying when her mother died, but this was the first time she ever saw him shed anything more than a tear. His face was wet and it wasn't from the water. Ariel took her father's hands in hers

"Daddy, I want to come home, there is nothing for me here anymore."

"Ariel, don't let me come in the way of your dreams again."

"I don't have that dream anymore. He was the dream."

"And he shall be honored as a hero."

"I'd rather have him alive than dead and a hero."

Triton's eyes widened. Ariel's face flushed and without any warning, she broke down in front of him. She wrapped her arms tightly around her father and hugged him, unable to comprehend what she had just said.

"I'm sorry daddy, I'm so sorry!"

Triton kissed her cheek. "Let it all out." And there they were, floating in the water, embracing and weeping for all to see. When Ariel's eyes finally had nothing left, Triton lifted her face to his. "Are you certain this is what you want?"

Ariel paused. "Maybe not what I want, but what I need for now." She had thought the human world was what she wanted.

Her decision was made. It was tough for the both of them, but he needed to change his ways. He needed to respect his daughter's wish. He once again changed Ariel back into a mermaid. After her transformation, he gave her one last kiss on her head.

"Go home, my little mermaid. You've had enough."

Ariel hugged her father one more time before swimming back to Atlantica. Triton took one last look at the man his daughter fell in love with. This was the first time he laid eyes on a human this close. He never knew this man, but something inside him told him that they were not all bad. That he was an honored prince, and would have made a great king.


	2. She Was in Love

She Was in Love

"She killed him"

"She killed him!?", the rest of Ariel's sisters couldn't believe what they heard from Andrina

"Yeah, and it was pretty awful! I heard he had his leg blown off by a lightning bolt and one of his eyes was hanging out!"

"Andrina, shut up now." Attina scolded, shutting down her sister. As the oldest, it was her duty to protect her sisters from their worst enemies: themselves.

"You need to watch what you say. Ariel is in the other room and daddy _clearly_ filled you in on what happened."

All of them laid in their room, each telling what they heard about the events the night before. Each a bit different from the other. What was clear was that Ariel fell in love with a human, and then that same human died.

"It looks like she's not going to get over it anytime soon. She was crying all last night and it was getting pretty annoying. She ruined my beauty sleep and I woke up with circles under my eyes."

"ALANA!", Aquata cried, throwing a pillow at her shallow sister. "You seriously have no heart, do you?! Our sister has been heart broken and all you care about is your looks. Why, you're more vain than…"

"Than what?!"

"ENOUGH!", Attina took charge and shouted at her sisters that bubbles flew out of her mouth. Alana and Aquata nearly fall back onto their beds. "Our sister is practically on the verge of depression and all you care about is your looks and your credibility. Who's right? Who's wrong? Does it matter when our youngest sibling has been wronged most of all?"

"Oh, stop it, don't act like you're the queen just because you're the oldest." Aquata gave her sister the "talk to the hand" as she swam by. All Attina could do was roll her eyes.

"Who knew a simple crush could turn into this."

"You'd be surprised. Just ask Adella."

Offended, Adella swam over to her Aquata and punched her in the arm. Aquata screamed. Furious, she yanked Adella's hair and Adella retaliated by taking the strap of her sister's shells and pulling it all the way back, letting it fly and thwacking her sister on the back. There was a blur of bubbles as the two sisters fought each other until Aquata's sea shells were torn off and floated down onto the floor.

Aquata embarrassingly covered her chest as her sisters laughed. Her face reddened and she tried not to break down in front of her sisters, knowing it would make them laugh even more. Maybe Ariel did have the right idea getting away from their family. Who would want to be related to _these_ sea sirens?

Andrina looked on from the balcony of their room. These beasts, all they cared about was themselves, and they were willing to fight each other to prove who was "better".

"You're all cruel!" she screamed as she barged through their door and swam out of their room.

Attina began to call to her sister, but Andrina was already out of sight by the time she could get a word out. The room fell silent and the sisters looked around cluelessly. Attina sighed. "Fine. If you all won't, then I will." She swam out of the room after Andrina and found her floating a few inches away from a closed door. The door to Ariel's room. Andrina was just staring at it. She was completely silent except for the small sobs that escaped her mouth.

"Andrina?"

Nothing.

"Andrina?" Attina prodded gently.

"When she came back, she swam into the room and shut the door. And Daddy just left like it was no big deal...but it felt like a big deal to me. I mean, I don't know why...I wasn't even that close with Ariel to begin with…"

Attina swam up to her sister and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to continue.

'And when I went in...she...she looked horrible. Her hair was like overgrown seaweed, tangled and knotted and her eyes…" she shuddered… "She was holding this piece of stone...it resembled somebody...a male human. She was just tracing her fingers all over it, over, and over…I went up to her to stroke her hair to comfort her...but she whirled around and started screaming at me, 'Get out! Don't you know I'm dangerous?! Get out before you get killed, too!' And I swam away."

Andrina trembled. Attina took her sister into her arms and stared at the door wide eyed. Just how far gone was Ariel really? And if it didn't end here...what would become of their Daddy's favorite?


	3. You filled it once, why not again?

"You Filled it Once, Why not again?"

The Grotto was the same as when she had left it. Her human stuff was scattered everywhere; thing-a-ma-bobs were scattered all over the rock floor. Who's-it's and what's-it's were galore in crumpled heaps. Everything blasted by her father's trident was either torn, smashed to bits, or contorted out of shape. It was pitiful but Ariel didn't want to touch any of it. She left all of it as it was, each piece of her collection was now lying in its own grave on the ocean floor. The memories! Why was she here? Why was she torturing herself by being back in her grotto? The things she once long desired fell all around her. She wanted nothing to do with that world again, yet here she was. Sitting on top of the stump of _his_ destroyed statue.

She was still holding its head. It still ached, what she had done to her own sister a couple days prior. All Andrina wanted to do was help, and what did Ariel do? She yelled at her, pushed her away. Is this what she has become? Is this what Eric would have wanted? Is this how he would have wanted her to mourn him? Ariel didn't know, she couldn't come up with any answers to her many questions. She sat there depressed. She was always an upbeat mermaid. Searching for the fun in life, rebellious and spunky, but now she felt like nothing more than stone. The very stone she was now sitting upon.

"Ariel?"

Ariel turned to see Sebastian, his face showed a perplexed expression that perfectly matched the way he said her name, surprised and confused.

"Child! I- I never expected to find you here again."

"Who told you I was here?"

"Your sisters were worried. You had left ya room and no one could find you. Just a hunch I guess."

Ariel sunk back into herself. She was about to lose herself again. She sighed as tears streamed from her eyes again. She was surprised she had tears left in her.

"Child- child, please don't cry."

Ariel snapped back at her mentor and friend

"Then what else is there for me to do? I never felt such at home until I went up there, and I ruined everything. All of this stuff that I have collected is meaningless now. My father destroyed most of it and the only things left remind me too much of what i have done."

She turned to Sebastian. She wasn't sure what to think of herself at this very moment.

"Why am I here, Sebastian? Why am I torturing myself coming back here?"

"Because deep down you don't mean most of dat. You still care, about both worlds, sky and ocean. You have a beautiful heart Ariel, don't tarnish that. You have ya whole life ahead of ya. Raise your head high and sing child."

She did what he said. Maybe singing was her last hope. It made her father and Eric happy, maybe it would make her happy, too. She raised her head high and tried to sing. Her voice cracked instantly. She sounded nasally. Her voice! Nothing could come out! Ariel began to cry harder. It was for the best she thought to herself. With Eric gone, her voice was what she had left to remember him, and she would rather forget everything that had happened, but she just couldn't.

"It's gone."

"It can't be child, you just have to have confidence-"

Ariel snapped once again

"Well it is gone! And nothing you do will change that. Like all my stuff- no, junk. All these broken shards. The last time I was here, my father destroyed all off it. Maybe it _was_ for the best.

Sebastian could not understand what he was hearing. Was Ariel serious? What was going through this poor child's head?

"No, it's not all gone. And now that your father knows the truth, you can now fill this place with more, more than you had before. You can fill it again. You can fill your life again.

"-But the only thing i wanted to fill my life was him. All of this became extra. It all became secondary. Am i selfish, Sebastian? Did i want _him_ , or did i want to just be up-"

Ariel looked up to the cave of her grotto, searching for something.

"-up there?"

Sebastian looked on with her. He understood what she wanted, but he found it hard to answer her.

"I'm sorry ariel, I can't answer dat for ya. Only you can."

"Leave me alone"

"Ariel"

"GO! Sebastian"

Sebastian just paused. He couldn't respond. He respected her wishes and began to walk away back up the way he came. He turn around to see Ariel sobbing hard, harder than she ever had before. Sebastian began to cry himself. Seeing this poor girl hurting was hard for him to watch. As much as he wanted to help her, no just wasn't the time.

Ariel turned around to see Sebastian leaving. What had she done? She wanted to call out to him, but he was already out of the grotto.

Ariel just sat on her stump, alone. With only her thoughts to keep her company, but even that was not enough.

Ariel just closed her eyes, tears still streaming from her ducts. honestly hoping she would fall asleep and not wake up.

Ariel's chest began to hurt. The pressure of her crying began to not just affect her mind, but her body.

Ariel felt something come over her. Something soft was touching her shoulders. Frightened, she quickly swam away from the stump. She saw nothing but th bubbles her quick swim had left behind. She continued to look around as the bubbles began to settle.

That feeling came over her again. This time she just let it happen. It was a feeling she was used to, but it did feel familiar. It was soft, like hands unaffected by the salt of the sea. She sat back on the stump and just let the feeling take her? What was it? Whatever it was, she adored the feeling.

The feeling crossed over her shoulders and her stomach. It felt like a hug. Ariel crossed her arms over herself and hugged the thin water. Thinking of her in his arms. Was it her subconscious? It all felt so real? Everything she was feeling now, felt real. She wasn't dreaming.

She was about to dismiss her own theory when in her ear she heard the words "i love you".

The warm and soft feeling on her body dissipated after that. She missed it already. Could it have been who she thought it was? How is that possible?

She still longed for him. Was it his spirit getting his last chance to say goodbye? She would never know, but that is what she told herself she was going to think. Eric for the last time told her he loved her.

Her heart skipped a beat in her thought.

"I love you, too!", she said to the naked water, wondering if he heard her like she heard him.


End file.
